Fiber surfaced garment and fabric pressing device

ABSTRACT

A pressing member for pressing machines and the like having an expansive pressing surface. The member presents to a garment to be pressed a fiber pressing surface constituted by a large number of short individual fibers per square inch bonded to the member by an intermediate layer of heat and moisture resistant adhesive. The pressing member may be a press plate, and may be perforated to pass steam.

United States Patent Airdo [451 May 16,1972

[54] FIBER SURFACED GARMENT AND FABRIC PRESSING DEVICE [72] Inventor: Joseph Ardo, Skokie, Ill.

[73] Assignee: Bishop Freeman Company, Evanston, lll.

[22] Filed: Apr. l5, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 28,586

[52] U.s. Cl .3s/66 [5 l] [58] Field of Search ..38/66, 97, 140

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,169,118 8/1939 Wardwell ..38/66 2,880,529 4/1959 Freeman ..38/66 2,497,696 2/1950 Smith ..38/66X Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lavvson Attorney-Dressler, Goldsmith, Clement & Gordon [57] ABSTRACT A pressing member for pressing machines and the like having an expansive pressing surface. The member presents to a garment to be pressed a fiber pressing surface constituted by a large number of short individual fibers per square inch bonded to the member by an intermediate layer of heat and moisture resistant adhesive. The pressing member may be a press plate, and may be perforated to pass steam.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FIBER SURFACED GARMENT AND FABRIC PRESSING DEVICE This invention relates to a pressing surface for machines used in connection with garment pressing and/or steaming and is especially adapted for use on press plates aixed to steam pressing machines. In a steam pressing machine, one or more steam permeable surfaces is urged with substantial force against one or both sides of a fabric or garment to be pressed, steam and pressure both combining to effect a pressing operation.

For many fabrics such as worsteds and woven woolen materials, it is desirable to avoid pressing with a smooth surface. With pressing surfaces that are steam permeable, conventional pressing members may present pressing surfaces which impart to the pressed fabric moire, shine or other undesirable surface finishes. Moire is caused by the pattern of the pressing surface imprinted upon the pattern of the fabric being pressed. Where the pressing surface has a regular pattern, the resulting moire is quite noticeable and highly objectionable. Moire is thus caused by a pressing surface which is not smooth but instead by one which has a regular pattern thereon. In contrast to moire is shine which results when the surface of a fabric is pressed to what appears to be a mirror finish.

While the objective of pressing is to smooth out wrinkles or obtain sharp creases, nevertheless it is necessary to retain the essential surface texture of the garment fabric. This invention is concerned with the provision of a pressing surface which in a fabric or garment press will attain the objectives of pressing, mainly the elimination of wrinkles or the creation of sharp creases, without at the same time imparting undesirable shine or moire to woolen fabrics. At the same time, this invention is directed to a pressing surface which will also press smooth fabrics, such as silks and silk-like fabrics, in an optimum manner without imparting moire to them.

Many members presenting specialized pressing surfaces are known to the art and are used in the garment and fabric pressing trades. The surfaces of such members are usually specially configured or specially treated to produce a desired press on the garment or fabric. The configuration and/or treat ment of the surfaces depends upon the fabric to be pressed. For example, for pressing wools, worsteds or wool-like fabrics, it is important that the pressing surface be somewhat rough. Otherwise, an undesirable shine will be imparted to the garment. On the other hand, smooth fabrics and garments such as of silk and silk-like fabrics will be undesirably marked by a rough-surfaced pressing member, so it has been important to use a very smooth-surfaced pressing member for such garments. For those reasons, specialized press plates with different surface characteristics have been necessary and have been variously used for the optimal finishing of fabrics and garments of different materials.

A pressing plate especially surfaced for pressing lustrous fabrics, such as silks, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,176. Pressing plates especially surfaced for pressing fabrics such as woolens and the like are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,970,393, 2,632,968 and 2,887,798. In those patents the objective of the roughened surface produced is to prevent imparting a shiny finish to a fabric or garment. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,887,798, a press plate is illustrated in which an adhesive layer is provided to which grit particles are adhered to provide such a roughened surface. While such a press plate surface is useful in pressing nonlustrous garments and fabrics, it is not adapted to the optimum pressing of lustrous fabrics, such as slks.

The press plate of this invention is more universally adaptable to the pressing of both lustrous and nonlustrous fabrics than any of the press plate surfaces just referred to, or any other press plate surface presently available to the trade.

The press plate of this invention comprises an expansive metal plate, the surface of which plate is covered with a very large multiplicity of short fibers, preferably of a synthetic material. The fibers themselves serve as the pressing surface,

and are adhered to the plate by a very thin intermediate layer of adhesive. Both the fibers and the adhesive used are resistant to the high temperatures encountered in normal pressing operations, and when steam is used, to the steam as well. Preferably, the metal plate is perforated, the perforations being open and being surrounded by the fibers, so that the fabrics to be pressed may be steamed as well as pressed.

It has been found that the fibrous pressing surface provided appears to be superior to any other type of pressing surface yet developed for the elimination of shine in pressed wool and wool-like fabrics. Additionally, it has been found that the pressing surface of' this invention is more nearly universal to the pressing of both wool-like and silk-like fabrics than any other pressing surface of which applicant is aware. In addition to those noteworthy advantages, pressing surfaces embodying this invention reduce the amount of heat radiation through the pressing surface, thus making the pressing operation more comfortable for the machine operator.

These and other advantages and features of this invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partially broken away, of the pressing surface of a pressing plate embodying the principles of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the opposite side of a pressing plate of this invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion of FIG. 1 taken substantially along the line 3-3 thereof; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

Referring now the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of this invention comprising a relatively rigid metallic press plate 10 defining a large multiplicity of perforations or apertures l2.

The apertures are distributed across the entire surface of the plate and are generally unifonnly spaced. ln FIG. l, the broken away sections illustrate the apertures, the nonbroken away sections the fibers to be described. Apertures 12 are small enough so moire will not result.

The press plate may be aixed, in a known manner as by springs 14, to the head of a pressing machine, such as that illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,968. In such a press a source of steam is provided to heat and steam a fabric to be pressed. A press plate formed from a sheet of aluminum about 0.032 inch thick with about 130 apertures per square inch, each aperture being about 0.024 inch in diameter has been found to be satisfactory. These dimensions may be varied. For example, the number of apertures may range from about as few as about to as many as about 600 per square inch. The diameter of the apertures may vary from about 0.020 to about 0.030 inch and the thickness of the plate material may also be varied.

The press plate 10, surfaced in the manner to be described, is affixable to the head of a pressing machine and is adapted to move toward a garment disposed conventionally on the buck of the machine. Although the plate moves toward and away from the garment there is no relative movement of the two along the confronting surface of the plate during the pressing operation.

The actual pressing surface of the press plate 10 comprises a very large multiplicity of short fibers 16. These fibers cover the entire surface of the press plate intermediate the apertures l2. The outermost ends of the fibers 16 are free, while the innen-nost ends adjacent the press plate 10, as represented in FIG. 3, are adhered to a very thin layer 18 of a suitable adhesive which firmly adheres both to the surface of the metallic plate 10 and to the innermost ends of the fibers 16. The adhesive layer also lies substantially only intermediate the apertures l2. Thus, neither the fibers nor the layer of adhesive blocks the apertures through which steam is adapted to pass during the utilization of the pressing machine on which the press plate 10 is adapted to be mounted.

A press plate was made in accordance with this invention and was found to provide a highly desirable and superior pressing surface. That plate was made substantially as follows:

A perforated aluminum press plate formed from aluminum sheet about 0.032 inch in thickness and having about 130 perforations per square inch, the perforations being about 0.024 inch in diameter, was thoroughly cleaned and sand-blasted. It was then heated to a temperature of about 350 F, although temperatures up to about 450 F are suitable.

Thereafter a thin layer, approximately 3 to 5 mils in thickness, of a powdered epoxy resin was electrostatically applied to the upper surface of the plate between the perforations. A suitable epoxy resin is available from the 3M Cornpany under the trade name SCOTCHKOTE protective resin powder. The powdered resin particles were applied by spraying them toward the heated plate while charging them at a high voltage and while maintaining the plate at ground potential. The spraying equipment used was conventional electrostatic spraying equipment known to the art. Substantially no adhesive was applied to the back of the plate or to the interior of the apertures. Shortly thereafter, thousands of short fibers per square inch were electrostatically applied to the tacky adhesive. The electrostatic application of the fibers proceeded in a manner generally known to the art, the fibers being chargedA at a highA potential and being applied to the adhesive coated surface ofthe plate while the plate was maintained substantially at ground potential.

The fibers used were polyester fibers sold by the Claremont Flock Corporation, and were about 30 mils in length and about 3 denier. Such fibers are available from a variety of manufacturers, and are treated by Claremont Flock Corporation, and others, to enhance their electrostatic deposition characteristics. The majority of the applied fibers were oriented generally normally to the surface of the plate as distinguished from lying generally parallel to the plate surface.

Thereafter the adhesive was fully set by heating the coated plate at an elevated temperature in an oven.

Avariety of coating methods, adhesives and fibers may be used in accordance with the invention. For example, other electrostatic or nonelectrostatic procedures for applying adhesives and short fibers to a backing surface may be utilized.

Other fibers having the temperature and moisture resistance necessary for use in particular pressing environments may also be used. Such fibers may be other synthetic fibers, such as of nylon, combination of nylon and polyester, acrylics, and other known synthetic fibers, as well as nonsynthetic fibers, such as rayon and cotton. The length of the fibers may be varied depending upon the particular surface feel and characteristics desired. Thus, the fibers may be shorter than 30 mils. For example they may be mils or less in length, and they may be larger, such as 50 mils or longer. The denier of the fibers used also may be varied according to the specific characteristics and feel desired for the press plate surface. The less the denier the softer the feel, and vice versa. V

As stated, the pressing surface made in accordance with the procedure described above incorporated thousands of fibers per square inch, the majority of which projected generally nonnally from the metallic plate surface.,Again, depending upon the specific characteristics desired, and upon the diameter and denier of the fibers, the number of fibers per square inch applied and their orientation with respect to the carrying surface may be also varied. ln all instances, however, it is desirable to maintain the apertures, where they exist, substantially completely open, and the application procedure described above resulted in substantially fully open apertures after application of the adhesive and the fibers.

In addition to the powdered epoxy resins, other adhesives resistant to the temperatures and moisture conditions encountered in the use of the press plate may be used. For example, liquid epoxy coating and adhesive formulations may be used, as may other adhesive and coating materials which will meet the service conditions. It has been determined, however, that thermosetting epoxy coatings and adhesives are the preferred adhesives and that polyester fibers, nylon bers and mixtures of them, are the preferred fiber materials for use in making a press plate surface kwhich is exposed to temperatures and steam and moisture conditions normally encountered in the pressing trades.

It should also be noted that the plate itself maybe formed in a manner known tothe art and may incorporate a steam diffusor plate or other steam diffusing means known to the art, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,176.

It is also contemplated by this invention that imperforate press plates also known to be aixable to pressing machines, such as hot head pressing machines, and minimally perforate relatively fixed steam puffheads may also be treated in the manner indicated to present a fibrous pressing and/or steaming surface against which fabrics may be pressed. In each instance, however, there is substantially no relative movement of the fabric and the pressing surface during the fabric finishing or pressing operation.

In addition to metal backing plates, fibers may be applied to other known pressing plates, such as, for example, plastic plates. Further, fabric surfaced plates may also be provided with a fiber surfacing ofthe character described herein.

As stated, the fiber surfaced press plate of this invention produces a superior pressed and steamed fabric finish, and particularly eliminates shine when woolens are pressed. The surface is also more universally useful for woolens and silks than any presently available press plate surface, thus eliminating the necessity of substituting and alternating plates on a pressing machine when different fabrics are pressed to achieve optimum finishes on the different fabrics.

Further, unlike known press plates, and because of the fiber sur-facing, radiation from the head of the pressing machine and from the metallic press plate is reduced making the associated pressing machine s use by the operator more comfortable. The fiber surfaced rim and main surface also reduce the likelihood of serious bums should an operator accidentally come into contact with such.

Yet another attribute of press plates made in accordance with this invention is that they may be made to hold lint and the like, substantially without transferring it to subsequently pressed garments, yet the accumulated lint may easily be brushed from the fiber surface periodically as desired. Alternatively, the surface may be treated to minimize lint pick-up where that may be desirable.

Those advantages, the possibility of producing press plates in a variety of attractive colors, and other advantages inhere in the provision of a pressing surface which presents to successive fabrics and garments to be pressed a large multiplicity of short individual fibers, all as disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:

l. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch, said backing plate defining a large multiplicity of perforations, the fibers of the adhesive surrounding the said perforations whereby when the press plate is connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, steam may be discharged through said perforations while said fibers are in pressing contact with fabric.

2. In the press plate of claim l in which said backing plate is perforate and said fibers surround the perforations.

3. In the press plate of claim 1 in which said fibers are synthetic fibers.

4. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of an epoxy adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally nonnally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch.

5. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short polyester fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said bers numbering in the thousands per square inch.

6. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short nylon fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said bers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch.

7. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of a mixture of short nylon and polyester fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch.

Ik it lk UNITED STATES PATENT oEEICE CERTIFICATE vOF CORRECTION Paten: No. 3,662,2479 Dated May 16, lge' Invento1-(s) Joseph Airdo It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that seid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 32, after "now" insert to --5 Cigmn il, lines 6 2 and 63, delete claim 2.

Column 4 line 64 "3 should read Z line 66,

Signed and sealed this 26th day of September'r 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR ROBERT GOTTSCHALK v Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch, said backing plate defining a large multiplicity of perforations, the fibers of the adhesive surrounding the said perforations whereby when the press plate is connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, steam may be discharged through said perforations while said fibers are in pressing contact with fabric.
 2. In the press plate of claim 1 in which said backing plate is perforate and said fibers surround the perforations.
 3. In the press plate of claim 1 in which said fibers are synthetic fibers.
 4. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of an epoxy adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch.
 5. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short polyester fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch.
 6. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of short nylon fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch.
 7. A press plate adapted to be connected to the head of a fabric pressing and finishing machine, said press plate comprising a rigid metallic backing plate, means for mounting said backing plate to the lower surface of said head, a thin layer of adhesive bonded to the lower pressing surface of said backing plate, and a large multiplicity of a mixture of short nylon and polyester fibers partially embedded in said adhesive and projecting outwardly from said adhesive layer, the majority of said fibers projecting generally normally to the surface of said backing plate, said fibers numbering in the thousands per square inch. 